Every now and then a special talent comes along in chess. Many scholastic players have graced chess halls around the world, but it is rare to see a young player with the enthusiasm of 13-year old Kayin Barclay of Chicago. Of course, most young players have a lot of energy, but Kayin has begun a process not often seen at this age… self-criticism. How many scholastic players will submit an annotated game of a loss??

Back in June, Kayin participated in the North American and Caribbean Youth Chess Championship in Boca Raton, Florida and scored 3-3 losing to eventual winner Peter Yeh. He also loss to Justin McDonald (the Canadian under-14 champion) and annotated the exciting game. He was particularly proud to have met another accomplished player… All-Girls Open champion, Stephanie Ballom. "I had the honor of meeting Stephanie and going over our game," he stated. Keep an eye out for this young guy!